For nearly three decades, a Calgary man has served as one of the North Pole's most dedicated digital elves, and now he's sharing the magic—and the poignant reality—of his unique role with the world.
The Emotional Rollercoaster of Being Santa's Digital Helper
Alan Kerr launched the website EmailSanta.com in 1997, creating a simple portal for children to send their Christmas wishes directly to the North Pole. What began as a festive project has since grown into a global phenomenon, with Kerr estimating he has received roughly 25 million letters from children across the planet.
While many messages are filled with humorous requests and holiday cheer, Kerr says the correspondence runs the full emotional spectrum. "The kids' letters are hilarious, but really it's the full emotional spectrum," Kerr explained. He notes that children often confide in Santa with a unique trust, sharing things they might not tell anyone else.
This trust means Kerr's inbox contains not only wish lists for toys but also heartfelt messages revealing grief, fear, illness, bullying, and other hardships. "It does wear on a soul after so long … the emotional roller coaster," he admitted, describing the jarring transition from reading a funny letter about turning a sibling into a potato to one dealing with cancer or loss.
A Calling to Listen and a Book to Share
One letter, in particular, cemented the profound importance of his service. Kerr recalls a message from a nine-year-old girl seeking comfort after her brother, father, and uncle all died within the same year. "That's what made me realize how important that part of Santa's job is—to be someone that children can talk to, so that they feel like they're being listened to," he reflected.
Despite the emotional weight, Kerr says the children's own words are what fuel his mission after 27 years. "When I go back and I look through the letters, you find that magic again, and that's really what it's all about," he said. He describes the work, shared by many of Santa's helpers, as a true calling.
Capturing the Magic in Print
To share this unique global snapshot of childhood, Kerr has compiled a thousand of the most memorable letters into a new book titled Dear Santa, Letters to emailSanta.com Vol. I: 1,000 Hilarious Kids' Letters to Santa. The collection primarily highlights the funny and heartwarming notes but also includes some of the more serious correspondences that reveal the deeper role Santa plays.
"I'm getting all these wonderful letters from kids all over the world, but I'm the only one who gets to see them," Kerr said of his motivation for the book. "It's like, these have to be shared. People have to see these."
From his home in Calgary, Alan Kerr continues to man the digital sleigh, proving that in a high-tech world, the simple, timeless act of writing to Santa still holds incredible power—to delight, to console, and to connect children with a symbol of hope.
